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Faster access to groundbreaking medicines

Patients could have access to new, groundbreaking medicines up to six months earlier under a new scheme being finalised with the pharmaceutical industry.

November 26, 2018

iStock.com/scanrail

Patients could have access to new, groundbreaking medicines up to six months earlier and the NHS across the UK is expected to save around £930 million on its medicine bill under a new scheme being finalised with the pharmaceutical industry.

The Government and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) have reached a deal on the Heads of Agreement for a new voluntary scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access, which is expected to come into effect from January 2019.

The final details are still being finalised, but a major milestone has been reached in the discussions which would see the most transformative and best value medicines made available on the NHS more quickly through better horizon scanning, earlier commercial dialogue, and faster appraisals from The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:

“This new deal will be good for patients, good for the NHS and good for the UK life sciences industry. Cutting-edge and best value medicines will be fast-tracked and we will cut our medicines bill by £930 million next year following tough but constructive negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry – money we can redeploy into better NHS services, alongside the NHS Long Term Plan. The deal will also ensure the UK remains an attractive hub for research and investment so the next generation of ground-breaking treatments can be developed here with patients benefitting earlier.”